Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Welcome to ‘Letters From A Tory’, covering British politics from a conservative perspective. Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts about today’s letter, and don’t forget that you can CLICK HERE to get my letters sent to you by RSS every morning.Dear David Cameron,
So here we are.  After the rollercoaster of a [...]

Dear Andy Coulson,
I appreciate that you are busy with the Conservative Party conference, but how on earth did you let so many Labour blunders in one day go completely unnoticed?  I’m sure you were keen to get Cameron on a couple of the front pages.  However, a bad day for Labour would have been the [...]

Dear Polly Toynbee,
As a raving Leftie I’m sure your readers are used to your anti-Conservative rants.  Bizarrely enough, I sensed that you were trying to offer some kind words of advice to the Conservatives in your column this morning, but even when you try to be nice your arguments simply don’t add up due to [...]

Dear The Independent,
Dear oh dear.  Your leading article on the new exams watchdog, which is designed to end the debate over the ‘dumbing down’ of exams, was very poor.  I can only assume that you don’t really understand the mechanism of exam scripts being marked, because if you did the flaws in the proposal for a [...]

Dear Gordon Brown,
The irony is palpable.  Having spent so many months accusing David Cameron of being light on substance and action, you are now guilty of precisely the same failure – this time over the problems in Burma.
There are many reasons why your stance is embarrassing.  The military regime in Burma has been in power [...]

Dear David Miliband,
Like Alan Johnson, you are clearly detached from the reality of what Labour’s foreign policy has done to this country and many others, hence the need for me to write this letter to you.
For you to stand there in front of the conference and the media and state that “every citizen of every nation deserves [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
How stupid do you think we are, seriously?  I was considering being constructive in this letter to you about the future of the NHS, but after your speech yesterday I have no choice but to be extremely blunt about my feelings on the issue.
The policies you outlined in your speech are the most insulting [...]

Dear David Cameron,
I respect the fact that you are not bothering to fight Gordon Brown for the headlines during the Labour Party conference.  There isn’t really much point, seeing as he will steal the headlines regardless of any counter-offensive you launch.  But as you rightly spotted yesterday, Gordon Brown’s speech was light on content and [...]

Dear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
I, like many other people reading the papers this morning, will have mixed feelings about your trip to America.  With the best will in the world, your previous comments about the US government and their role in international politics makes it hard to believe your sentiments expressed yesterday, such as your denial that [...]

Dear Bruce Anderson,
I find it very hard to disagree with your analysis of Gordon Brown’s state of mind with regard to a possible autumn election.  As the title of your article suggests, he has every reason to call an election and yet he still might not take the plunge.
The polls are still behind Brown, albeit [...]

Dear Minette Marrin,
Thank you so much for being honest about immigration in the Sunday Times.  Despite the ability of the word ‘immigration’ to polarise public opinion, you have highlighted the undeniable fact of the strain placed on our public services by having an open-door policy towards immigration for years, if not decades.
It frustrates me enormously [...]

Dear Matthew d’Ancona,
Your insightful article in the Sunday Telegraph provided an interesting perspective on how Gordon Brown will approach the Labour conference.  In amongst the will-he-won’t-he election talk, a lot of commentators seem to have forgotten that the conference may need to focus on other issues if it is to be successful.
The main point that [...]

Dear QCA,
Yet again you have failed to give the public good reason to believe that our national examination system is alive and well.  I’m sure most people outside of education probably didn’t realise that many exam papers are now marked on a computer screen instead of having the exam script on a desk in front [...]

Dear Mervyn King,
Congratulations on standing up for yourself in the Treasury Committee witch hunt yesterday.  Quite alarmingly, most politicians with an interest in financial matters have been looking for someone to blame at the BoE and it looks like you are the poor soul who has borne the brunt of it – which in my [...]

Dear Jacqui Smith,
With the power of the media these days, there are countless examples every year of people being suspected of wrongdoing before they’ve even been charged with any offence.  Celebrities often fall victim to such attacks, and even Madeleine McCann’s parents have been judged to some extent before any evidence has been brought before [...]

Dear Jose Mourinho,
I was quite surprised to hear of your resignation as manager of Chelsea this morning, but the more I think about it the less surprising it seems.  Your relationship with Roman Abramovich has obviously been in a poor state for many months and this season hasn’t got off to a flyer (although you’re [...]

Dear Gordon Brown,
This letter is not intended to criticise you per se, as I detest Robert Mugabe as much as the next person, but the financial and social difficulties facing Zimbabwe are complicated from the perspective of international relations and your ‘tough guy’ act might not be the best ploy.
What the British media often forgets [...]

Dear Simon Heffer,
Well done on a superb summary of the Northern Rock crisis in today’s Telegraph.  You have succinctly captured the idiocy of the entire situation from the government’s perspective and made it very clear how incredibly dangerous the don’t-worry-Gordon-will-bail-you-out precedent is.
For all this panic and fear spread around by the media, you quite rightly pointed [...]

Dear Liam Byrne,
Your shallow words on immigration fail to offer any comfort to the people that are affected the most.  It is plainly obvious to anyone that listens to the news or reads a newspaper that having uncontrolled immigration from other EU countries is having a seriously detrimental impact on the UK.
BBC News has the story [...]

Dear Hilary Clinton,
I must admit that I didn’t realise you were such a fan of Michael Moore films.  His recent film ‘Sicko’, which I’m looking forward to seeing on its UK release, clearly made an impact on you.  Healthcare is one of the most contentious issues in American politics and in the same way that [...]

Dear Nuffield Council on Bioethics,
I am not likely to solve one of the great debates of our generation in the course of this letter, but you have certainly touched a nerve with your report that suggests the DNA of innocent people should no longer be stored by the police.  At present the police can keep [...]

Dear Ruth Lea,
Yet again I find myself agreeing with your views on British politics.  Not only do I think that Global Vision, a think-tank set up by you to help us redefine our relationship with the EU, was an excellent addition to the debate, but you have a keen eye for political commentary as emphasised [...]

Dear Israeli government,
Needless to say the continuing support you receive from the USA remains a factor in the continuing violence in the Middle East and you seem to enjoy a certain amount of immunity to blame as a result.  This could not have been better demonstrated in the dearth of media coverage for the claims that [...]

Dear Nick Clegg,
Reading the Guardian’s assessment of your leadership credentials this morning was a surreal experience.  With the Lib Dem conference just around the corner the spotlight will be shining brightly on Ming Campbell as he defends his record as Lib Dem leader and presumably sets out his case for being given more time.  I’m [...]

Dear Mike Baker,
Thank you for your article on the BBC News website about pupils rating their teachers.  I am very interested in education and was educated in schools and universities from the age of 4 to 24, so like most people I’ve seen many teachers and sat in many lessons ranging from sheer brilliance to absolutely dire.
It [...]